Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I have a couple of things. I want to respond to Deputy Murphy first with regard to amendment No. 3. It is about bringing it in line with what is in the temporary protection directive but really, the intention is to put people arriving under the temporary protection directive on the same footing as those who are fleeing conflict and oppression. In other jurisdictions, it would obviously be my intention that they would be in a position to apply for medical cards and get all the same medical treatment that asylum seekers coming from countries other than the Ukraine would be entitled to. What is in legislation and the International Protection Act 2015 goes some bit further than that, and led to the situation where medical cards were being given out without a means test, and in a position that was not really comparable either with asylum seekers or, to some extent, with Irish citizens. That is the intention of amendment No. 3. Perhaps further consideration can be given to the wording of that in the Seanad. However, with regard to medical cards, the approach that was taken to Ukrainians and the fact that there was no means test, I think that is a very different position than what existed for other asylum seekers or for Irish citizens.

I certainly never indulged in, and would not agree with, the characterisation of People Before Profit with regard to Putin and Ukraine or anything like that. An awful lot of that commentary was juvenile, to be totally honest.

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